In the Grid
In the Grid was a game show that appears to be a spritual successor to Steal. Format Frontgame: The Grid The reigning champion would pick from a 3×3 board (from A1 to C3), each square hiding a name. The selected square would reveal the name of the champion's new opponent. If there was no reigning champion (only the case where the previous champion had won five games and had to "retire"), the selection was made randomly by the Grid. The first person selected was treated as the "reigning champion", and the second person selected was treated as the "new contestant" for the purposes of game play: this will be elaborated on later in this section. The main game board had sixteen squares in a 4×4 layout (from A1 to D4). Behind each square was a different colour, and neither player (nor the host or audience) knew the location of which colours were where. The colours are: *Gold (Cash): If chosen, the player receives a set amount of money. *Green (Bonus): If chosen, the player's money is increased by a set percentage. *Purple (Steal): If chosen, the player steals a set percentage of their opponent's money. *Red (Penalty): If chosen, the player's money is reduced by a set percentage. *Black (Bankrupt): If chosen, the player loses all or his/her money. The number of times that each colour occurred in the Grid varied between episodes. Typically, it would contain four to seven Cash squares, one to four Bonus squares, two to four Steal squares, four to six Penalty squares, and there was always one Bankrupt square, without exception. Both players would begin the game with £1,000 and two "reveals". If played, a reveal would allow a player to see the colour of a square, but not its value. The player was not obliged to play a square if they revealed it, but their opponent could choose to use the square for themselves if they believed it contained something good. The new contestant would begin the selection and choose a maximum of eight squares, with the reigning champion selecting a maximum of seven squares (sometimes the game could finish early when the outcome had been finalised), and the selection alternated between each player. The final square was never played. This uneven distribution of selections could at first seem like a disadvantage to the casual observer; however, on witnessing game play it can often be in a players favour to select less squares, and also not to have the last pick of squares (especially if they need a large amount of money on your last go to win, or if they are in the lead and had to select a square they knew would reduce their total). This was not always the case though, as each game differed wildly. Whoever earned the most money before the last square went through to the Mega Grid. The loser didn't keep the money they had accumulated to that point. Endgame: The Mega Grid In this end game, the winning player was offered the chance to win tens of thousands of pounds in prize money. Usually, the top prize in this round was between £15,000 and £30,000, although it reached £50,000 on one occasion (25 December 2006). To win, they had to choose squares on a 5×5 grid labelled A1 to E5. The grid contained around 20 to 23 gold squares, and 2 to 5 bankrupt squares. The first move was compulsory. The player had choose a gold square to increase their winnings. Hitting a bankrupt would cause the player to lose all their winnings from that episode. Thereafter, the moves were optional. The Grid would make an offer to the player to carry on for one more turn (up to a maximum of five turns). If the player agreed to carry on, they had to choose another gold square to increase their winnings. Again, if they hit a bankrupt, they would lose everything. The offers tended to increase exponentially, to encourage the player to take risks. After the first move, the player could take their current winnings at any point. The winning player would return to play on the next episode. However once a contestant had played the Mega Grid five times, they had to "retire". Five contestants went all the way to the end on the Mega Grid and four of these were successful. Viewer's Competition After the main game had finished, the board would change to a nine square 3×3 formation, with values ranging from either £500 to £3,000, £500 to £5,000, £800 to £7,000 or £1,000 to £10,000. The day's champion would pick a square and the amount that they revealed went to one of the viewers at home who entered. Category:Decision Making Category:Gambling Category:Channel 5 Shows Category:Short-Running Category:Flops Category:2006 premieres Category:2007 endings